The Man Cave publishes news, explainers, guides, questions and expert commentary about men's health and sexual health. It is written for intelligent readers who are not doctors. Our clinical pages about treatments at Men's Health Istanbul follow the separate medical editorial policy; the principles below apply to everything published in the Man Cave.
How topics are selected
We choose topics that matter to men's health and that readers ask about: questions sent to Ask the Doctor, subjects our doctors are frequently asked in clinic, significant new research, public health developments and topics suggested through our reader polls. We do not choose topics because they are sensational, and we do not write headlines that promise more than the article delivers.
Editorial content must be useful in its own right. Articles may link to relevant treatment or doctor pages where this helps the reader, but they are not advertisements for treatment.
How medical sources are evaluated
We base medical statements on sources in roughly this order of weight:
- clinical guidelines from professional societies, such as the European Association of Urology;
- systematic reviews, meta-analyses and randomised controlled trials published in peer-reviewed journals;
- large, well-conducted observational studies;
- information from government health authorities and major medical institutions.
Every reference we cite must exist and must support the statement it is attached to. We do not cite a paper we have not checked. Conference abstracts, preprints, animal and laboratory studies are reported only as early-stage research and are never presented as established treatment.
News versus clinical recommendation
A new study is news; it is rarely a reason to change treatment. When we report research we separate what the study found from what it means for patients, we say whether the evidence is established or early-stage, and we use language such as "the study found" or "was associated with" rather than "proves" when cause and effect has not been shown. Read how to read a health headline for the questions we ask of every study.
How articles are reviewed
Every article is written or edited by the editorial team. Articles that give medical advice, make medical claims or interpret clinical evidence are also reviewed by a doctor whose specialty matches the subject, as described in our medical review policy. Lifestyle and general-interest articles that make no medical claims may be published without medical review, and say so. We never display a medical review that has not taken place.
Corrections and updates
If we get something wrong, we correct it promptly. Significant corrections are noted at the end of the article with the date. Articles show both the date they were first published and the date they were last updated, and we review medical articles regularly so that they reflect current evidence. You can report an error through our contact page.
Conflicts of interest
The Man Cave is published by a clinic. We are open about that: articles never hide who publishes them, and links to our own services are clearly links to our own services. Doctors who write or review content declare relevant relationships with manufacturers or other companies, and a doctor does not review content in which they have a direct financial interest. Where we discuss medical devices or medicines, we describe them neutrally and do not declare one brand "better" than another.
Sponsored and advertising content
The Man Cave does not currently publish sponsored content. If that changes, any sponsored or paid material will be labelled clearly as Sponsored at the top of the page, kept separate from editorial content and not reviewed or presented as independent journalism. Advertisers and sponsors have no influence over our editorial or medical content.
Reader questions, polls and comments
Questions sent to Ask the Doctor are reviewed by editors and may be answered by a doctor and published anonymously in edited form. We never publish names, contact details, medical records, passport information or anything else that could identify the person who asked. Reader polls reflect responses from website visitors and are not scientific research. We do not host an open discussion forum; if comments are introduced in future, all health-related comments will be moderated before publication.
Use of technology
We may use software tools to help with research, drafting and checking. Every published article is checked by a person on the editorial team, and every medical claim is checked against its source before publication.